…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. Romans 3:23-24

Mommy wasn’t up yet but he was hungry. He was a big boy. He’d fix his own breakfast. That would make Mommy happy. He opened the refrigerator and tugged at the milk. Oops! Milk spilled on the floor. Mommy wouldn’t be happy. He’d better fix it. He spied that big cloth on the table. He could use that to clean up the milk. He pulled on it. Oops! Mommy’s flowers fell off the table. Crash! The vase shattered. Mommy wouldn’t be happy. He’d better fix it. He spied the broom. As he picked it up, it knocked the picture off the wall. Oops…

Ever feel like this boy? I sure do. We start off wanting to make God happy. Unfortunately, we’re not perfect. The more we try to fix it, the worse it gets. And before long, we’re just trying to clean up our messes so no one knows about them. We’ve completely forgotten about making God happy. And that’s the trouble with religion.

Religion is about rules. Relationship is about loving God. Jesus told us the most important commandment is to love God, then love others. It’s not about rules. It’s about relationship.

And by the way, Mommy wouldn’t have been upset if her son had awakened her. The mess could have been avoided by admitting he needed his mommy–just the way we need God–our heavenly Father. Don’t wait…call on Him.

Lil Duncan–writing stories where faith, hope, and love mingle with murder and mayhem. She believes that fiction can be entertaining without being tasteless. Besides writing, Lil is a speech-language pathologist. She and her husband live in a (very) small town in the Amish country of Ohio.
Read Lil’s devotions.